Menarche or Puberty…Which Is It?

Puberty is the entire transition a girls body goes through in the course of becoming a woman. Whereas Menarche is the first menstrual cycle of a young woman.

During the Puberty transition many things are occurring in a young woman’s body. The outward physical signs can be breast growth, body and facial hair changes, body shape changes, and body odor and acne. The internal changes are vaginal and discharge changes, ovary growth, and the beginning of menstruation (Menarche). The Emotional changes can be more difficult to see, but are still occurring and may encompass rapid changes in mood due to the fluctuations of hormones, and more awareness and concern over the rapid body changes leading to stress and tension. They may have responses to things that in the past were not an issue, creating a scene the family (and the young woman) is not expecting.

Ways of Coping With the Changes

Mom and Dad…..before (or at least at the beginning, when you see the first signs) your job as parent just got more complex. It is time for you to sit down and have a talk with your daughter. If she understands all these changes are occurring, she may have an easier transition…..so may you!

It is not the “Birds and Bees” talk, at least not yet. It is a time to explain the rapid changes she is soon going to experience. Understanding adds to the ability to cope. If you do not know how to go about this, set up an appointment with your doctor and get his advice. If he agrees (and you decide this is best) ask him to explain the process going on in her body to the young woman.

During this time it is vital that the young woman eat a healthy diet, take a multi-vitamin for optimum nutrition for healthy growth, get plenty of sleep, moderate exercise, and experiment with different soaps, deodorants, menstrual products and bra types to find what works best for her.

Stages of Transition

Dr. James Mourilyan Tanner, a British physician, studied the changes occuring in a young womans life. He discovered that there are 5 distinct stages, beginning at around 8 years old and finishing up at around 19 years of age. This is referred to as the Tanner Scale.

The stages often overlap as each girl is unique unto herself. It is a guideline only, to help in the understanding of the changes occuring

Stages Ages Developmental Stage Changes Typically observed

1 8-11 Early adolescence · Hormone production begins, no outward sign
· Ovaries begin to enlarge

2 8-14 Early adolescence Rapid growth in height and weight
· Breast buds begin to develop beneath the
nipples
· Traces of fine, straight pubic hair begin

3 10-15 Mid-adolescence · Breast development continues
· Pubic hair hair begins to coarsen, darken and curl
· Armpit hair begins
· Production of normal vaginal discharge begins
· Menarche

4 10-16 Mid-adolescence · Areolas begin to be more defined and darken in color
· Breasts take on more definition
· Pubic hair takes on the triangular pattern and thickens
· Ovulation begins (cycles are still irregular)

5
14-19
Late-adolescence
· Breasts are fully developed (although may increase in size later)
· Full adult height is reached
· Mestrual cycles and ovulation become regular
· Puberty is essentially done

Dealing with the Symptoms

Cramps –

· Use a hot pad, or moist heat applied to the abdomen. This helps the muscles to stop or at least slow down the spasming.
· Raspberry leaf tea is soothing and will help relieve the cramps
· Ginger (in capsule form or tea) is a long muscle relaxant and will ease cramps for some
· Yoga stretches allow the muscles to lengthen and relax easing the cramps

Mood Swings and Intense reactions –

· Take a time out….you can see what you are doing, just step back and breath
· Talk, not yell….tell those around you what you are feeling, they may not realize that what you are experiencing is due to hormone fluctuations, but now you know
· Take a nap….drink a warm soothing cup of chamomile tea and curl up for a nap, you will wake refreshed and more in control
· Talk with your doctor, she may have some very good suggestions

© Karol Thunder Rowe

Just what do you mean…The Seasons of a Woman’s Life?

Each transitional stage in a woman’s life can be mapped out like the seasons. Every part of life is sacred in it’s own way, to be cherished and enjoyed. There are ways to fight against who we are or are becoming in each transition, and there are ways to nurture and feed ourselves to a healthier, happier time.

Spring – Finds the girl becoming a young woman. Her body changes, becoming more lush, shedding its boyish figure for softer, rounder curves. That is the outward appearance of the transition. But inside there is so much happening! Hormones become triggered for the first time, emotions run rampant, desires and interests change, life takes on new meaning. For the first time the young woman must think about the fact that her fertility has awakened! This is usually called puberty.

Summer – By now the young woman’s body has filled out and matured into the blossom of full womanhood. This is the time period many become pregnant. But to be in this stage a woman need not have children! A woman’s body again has undergone a change….or really a refining of what began in Spring (Puberty). There is now a true fullness and ripeness to the figure and form that her body taken. Now is when the nurturing of herself and others truly begins.

Fall – The dreaded season of fall….hot flashes, night sweats, emotional upheaval, and all the other horrors of peri-menopause and menopause begin. Again the body is in transition. It is leaving the period of fertility behind, adapting to drops in hormonal levels, coping with loses (both emotional, and physical). Children leave home and leave the nest empty…..husbands are in mid-life crisis and leave home for someone younger….parents have aged and pass onto the next level of existence, leaving us behind! But this can be a wonderful time of blessings, it does not all have to be “bad.” It can also be a period of expanded awareness and greater extension of self to others.

Winter – This transition is begun in retrospect. We look back on the last year, find that it has been a full year since our last menses, and discover that menopause has come and gone, we are now post-menopausal. This is the final transition before death….which can be 20, 30, 40 years into the future! This is a time when the wise blood stays within, where we find ourselves positioned to be arbiters, guides, teachers, and healers to the fullest extent because our bodies no longer make the demands upon us it did earlier in life! We are at last free to explore and nurture ourselves fully. It is not an end but another beginning!

© Karol Thunder Rowe